Localized high resolution electrochemistry and multifunctional imaging: scanning electrochemical cell microscopy.

We describe highly localized electrochemical measurements and imaging using a simple, mobile theta pipet cell. Each channel (diameter <500 nm) of a tapered theta pipet is filled with electrolyte solution and a Ag/AgCl electrode, between which a bias is applied, resulting in a conductance current across a thin meniscus of solution at the end of the pipet, which is typically deployed in air or a controlled gaseous environment. When the position of the pipet normal to a surface of interest is oscillated, an oscillating component in the conductance current is generated when the meniscus at the end of the probe comes into contact with the surface and undergoes periodic (reversible) deformation, so as to modulate the solution resistance.

Evanescent wave cavity-based spectroscopic techniques as probes of interfacial processes.

Evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) is a surface sensitive technique, which allows optical absorption measurements at interfaces with good time resolution. In EW-CRDS, a pulsed or modulated laser beam is coupled into an optical cavity which consists of at least one optical element, such as a silica prism, at the surface of which the beam undergoes total internal reflection (TIR). At the position of TIR, an evanescent field is established whose amplitude decays exponentially with distance from the boundary.

Probing redox reactions of immobilized cytochrome c using evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy in a thin-layer electrochemical cell.

We report the use of evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) to monitor the reduction by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid iron(II) complex, [FeEDTA](2-), of an adsorbed layer of oxidized cytochrome c immobilized on fused silica. The adsorption of cytochrome c at the silica-water interface was also probed using EW-CRDS and found to be in qualitative agreement with previous studies. The reduction of the adsorbed cytochrome c was achieved by using a strategically positioned electrode to electrogenerate FeEDTA(2-), which diffused to the silica surface and reduced the cytochrome c.

Following interfacial kinetics in real time using broadband evanescent wave cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy: a comparison of light-emitting diodes and supercontinuum sources.

A white light-emitting diode (LED) with emission between 420 and 700 nm and a supercontinuum (SC) source with emission between 450 and 2500 nm have been compared for use in evanescent wave broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (EW-BB-CEAS). The method is calibrated using a dye with known absorbance. While the LED is more economic as an excitation source, the SC source is superior both in terms of baseline noise (noise equivalent absorbances lower than 10(-5) compared to 10(-4) absorbance units (a.

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of TTF modified oligodeoxynucleotides.

A new approach for labelling oligodeoxynucleotides with tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) units is presented, generating single and double strand structures with distinctive electrochemical signatures.

Evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy as a probe of interfacial adsorption: interaction of Tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) with silica surfaces and polyelectrolyte films.

Evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) has been used to study the interaction of the tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complex, [Ru(bpy)(3)](2+), at both native silica surfaces and surfaces modified with polyelectrolyte films. Both poly-l-lysine (PLL) and PLL/poly-l-glutamic acid (PGA) bilayer functionalized interfaces have been studied. Concentration isotherms exhibit Langmuir-type adsorption behavior on both silica and PGA-terminated surfaces from which equilibrium constants have been derived.

Electronic properties of Ag nanoparticle arrays. A Kelvin probe and high resolution XPS study.

The electronic properties of citrate stabilised Ag nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 4 to 35 nm were investigated by the Kelvin probe method and high resolution XPS. Two and three dimensional assemblies of the particles were prepared by electrostatic adsorption from aqueous solution onto poly-l-lysine modified surfaces. The work function of the Ag particles increased from 5.